As farming becomes more capital intensive and less labor intensive farm implements such as sprayers have increased in size. In order that such sprayers have a wide operating spray, where the wings are extended outwardly transverse to the direction of travel, it has become necessary to fold the wings either forwardly, upwardly or rearwardly to transport the implements along roadways. Sprayers and other farm implements with this folding ability are well-known in the art.
One of the difficulties however presently facing the farmer is that the width of the sprayer when in the operating position has greatly increased in size, sometimes as wide as one hundred feet or more. No problems are encountered in wide open spaces such as large treeless fields in the prairies, but difficulties do arise when the farmer wishes to spray a smaller area such as between a fence and a tree or power pole or rock pile.
Another problem which is encountered in the present sprayers is that when the sprayer is moving across the field in the operating position, one of the booms can strike an immovable object thereby causing damage to the wings or connecting mechanisms between the wings and the frame.
Generally, modern sprayers are comprised of a central boom and a left and right wing boom, or a plurality of left and right wing booms attached to the central boom. This arrangement was deemed necessary in order that the complete width of the path of the sprayer implement was covered with the requisite herbicide or pesticide chemical.
Another problem occurs when sprayers of extreme width of a hundred or more feet are moved across uneven land. In particular those sprayers whose wings are supported by wheels put undue stress on the wings and spray booms due to the uneven surface of the ground.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sprayer wherein one wing boom can operate independently of a second wing boom. That is to say one wing boom can be spraying in the transverse operating position while the other wing boom is idle in the transport position.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a locking means which is released if the sprayer strikes a solid object.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a sprayer which quickly and easily moves from the transport position to the operating position without the driver leaving the power source to make manual adjustments.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a sprayer having no central boom, while maintaining a spray pattern evenly across the entire width of the implement.